Starting a blog truly changed my life. Did I know at the time that my travel blog would become my full-time job? Definitely not. Would I do things differently if I had known? Definitely.
The technical side of blogging can get complicated, especially in the beginning, while later on the money making side of blogging can feel like a downright mystery. So I’m writing this as a huge reference guide for people looking to start their own travel blogs, and possibly potentially make some money out if it as well.
And maybe I’m also, just a tiny bit, making fun of the hype around travel blogging. Because we have to be able to laugh at ourselves too, right?
1. Reevaluate – Are you sure you can’t be a fashion, food, or lifestyle blogger instead?
A lot of travel bloggers get in it for the money, which is totally smart because what better way to travel the world than making money writing about your travels? It’s just that travel blogs are so. freaking. boring. Amiright? See if you can’t swing fashion or food blogger first.
No but really, even some of the biggest travel bloggers who started years ago, before the industry was saturated, seem to be seriously struggling to make ends meet. There are tons of better ways to make money online. Transcribing can be a good online income, or if you want to write you can always freelance.
Then again, maybe you’ll be the next Adventurous/Nomadic [insert name here], who am I to kill your dreams? Travel blogging is incredibly fun and addictive, so chances are it’s going to become a passion project that you don’t feel the need to earn an income from anyway. Consider yourself warned!
The most important lesson here is: only start a travel blog if you are actually passionate about sharing your travel adventures. Blogging requires a huge amount of work and while it will start paying off (literally and figuratively), the only thing that’s going to get you through the tough times is passion.
2. Choose a really clever, memorable, and relevant blog name.
I recommend using something with “heart” in it, because that just sounds super professional and isn’t at all embarrassing to say out loud.
Okay, maybe not.
But there are some important things to consider when looking for a name:
- It’s short, memorable, and easy to spell
- A version of it is available on all social media platforms you’ll be using (my handle is @heartmybackpack on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter).
- It can grow with you – don’t choose a name with “backpacker” in it if you won’t always be a backpacker, don’t choose a name that will expire when you get older or change your lifestyle, and I know a lot of people recommend not using your name, in case you eventually want to sell your blog or take on new writers.
- Make sure the words in your name don’t look weird when written all together (so like, maybe don’t go for “travelershittheroad”)
- Practice saying your blog name out loud. You definitely don’t want to be embarrassed by your blog name.
3. Go self hosted
If you want your own dot com you’ll need to buy hosting for your website. Basically you will pay for your website name (eg. mywebsite.com) and then you will pay a monthly fee for keeping that website online.
I bought my domain name and hosting from Hostgator and have never had a single problem. Hostgator has unlimited disk and bandwidth space, super helpful 24/7 tech support, and costs next to nothing. Once you pay for your hosting and domain name you can navigate to cPanel and download WordPress, and start blogging!
After buying a domain name and hosting (both of which you can do on Hostgator) all you have to do is install WordPress, which I know at least on Hostgator takes under two minutes. You can find a tutorial for setting up a WordPress blog on Hostgator here.
Click here for current prices for Hostgator
4. Brand it!
Branding is so important to a blog. What I mean here is the consistent look and feel of your blog. You don’t want to be all over the place with colors, photography styles, and writing styles, because you’re only going to confuse your readers and make it harder to attract a loyal community who want to read each and every one of your posts.
So pick two or three main colors you want to use on your blog, one or two fonts, stick with the same style of photography, and be consistent in your voice.
One of the most important aspects of blog branding is the look of your blog, which will be determined largely by the theme that you choose.
There are tons of beautiful themes out there, especially if you’re willing to pay a bit, which I would say is definitely worth it because blogs are so visual. People often will decide whether to explore your blog or not solely based on how it looks. It’s harsh, but a reality of blogging!
One thing to look out for when choosing a theme is if the theme is well built and won’t slow down your site. I’ve gone with the Genesis Framework because their themes are very reliable and impeccably built. Definitely worth the money!
Click here to see current prices for the Genesis Framework
5. FIND A NICHE!
That’s in all capitals because it’s the most important thing ever. Mine is life after backpacking and travel in the Nordics.
I know, I know, maybe I missed the ball a bit on this niche thing.
Or maybe my niche is mountains?
Basically, the deal with having a niche, or a specific focus within the travel blogging world, is to ensure that anyone who lands on one of your articles will love all the articles on your site. If you have a specific focus and write with a very specific reader in mind, then your blog won’t appeal to everyone, BUT everything you write will appeal to a smaller group of very engaged readers.
So if someone randomly lands on your blog because they’re interested in one article you wrote, chances are they’re going to want to stick around because all of your other posts will also appeal to them.
Because it’s much better to have a small engaged audience who loves everything you post than to write a bunch of random travel posts where someone might enjoy a few posts from your site, but other posts won’t interest them at all. Because then chances are they won’t want to stick around.
That said, I highly recommend narrowing your focus to something you are truly passionate about, not what you think will get you the most page views or sales of a product.
6. Tell everyone how amazing your travels are!
Some days I’ll think travel blogging is the best kind of blogging, because you’re helping people plan their own trips, highlighting the beauty of places Lonely Planet doesn’t care to feature, and opening people’s eyes to the rest of the world. That’s always a good thing, right?
But other days it feels like a gross community of people telling the Internet how awesome their lives are because they get to travel all the time – well, as long as enough people read their posts so they can keep going on sponsored trips!
I often get way too enthusiastic about places and can’t stop with the exclamation points, but later I’ll look back in shame. Is there anyone out there who is not sick of me going on and on and on about Iran? Nope, didn’t think so. Guys, I’m so sorry.
And then there’s the whole weird monetization aspect of blogging. I’ve written an entire post about how I make money travel blogging.
7. Don’t be afraid to invest some money into your blog
This is a little bit ridiculous, but early on in my blogging career I had this idea that I shouldn’t spend any more money on my blog than I made from it. I say it’s ridiculous, because who doesn’t spend money on their hobbies?
If there is one thing I could go back and change about how I developed my blog over the years, it would be starting to spend money on it earlier. I’ve written more about where to invest money in your blog here.
8. Study, study, study!
Yes, I was a total nerd in school, but I’m not saying this just because I personally enjoy learning. There is a huge learning curve in blogging, and if you try to just learn it all as you go it is going to take a long time. I really wish I had started reading blogging resources way earlier than I did, because it would have saved me so much time and helped me grow my blog much more quickly.
And no, it’s not all about numbers, so if growing slowly is your thing then that’s totally fine. But I will say that I’ve come to love blogging more and more as my blog has grown, and I think a big reason for that is the community aspect of blogging. I love my readers to bits and they are definitely the reason I persist with this whole blogging thing.
9. Join a blogging course
If you are serious about growing your blog and think you will eventually want to monetize it, then joining at least one blogging course is the way to go. In fact, even if you don’t want to join one now, chances are that you will in the future. I contemplated joining Superstar Blogging (formerly Travel Blog Success) for almost a year before actually committing, and by the time I did go for it it had become more expensive and I had wasted time with inefficient blogging practices that I could have avoided had I gone through the Superstar Blogging lessons. Ugh.
The problem is, blogging courses can be really expensive. They are hugely worth it (and not so expensive when you compare them to other classes you might take). But if you aren’t ready for the financial commitment, delve into ebooks instead!
Blogging Ebooks
My top two recommendation for new bloggers looking to get a bit serious and set up their blogs and social media channels in effective ways are:
- Strategies Worth Sharing // Facebook is my second biggest traffic driver (after Pinterest) and understanding how it works is key to blog growth. I only recently discovered this book and learned so much from it, even though I’ve been using Facebook for my blog for years. Game changer for sure. Click here for more details and the current price
- Blog Beautiful // Branding is so key for a blog, and this book walks you through all the steps for establishing a solid brand. While I loved this ebook for its in depth look at the elements of a well-branded blog design, it also offers a helpful system to get you to define your niche, target audience, and blog purpose – all key to establishing your brand. Click here for more details and the current price
Blogging Courses
I’ve enrolled in a total of five (!) blogging courses, and there are three that have been – and continue to be – the most helpful: The Blogger Course, Superstar Blogging, and the Travel Blog Monetization Summit.
The Blogger Course has hands down been the most helpful blogging course I’ve ever taken. It’s run by Monica of The Travel Hack, and I think a huge reason it was so helpful for me is that I love her blog and I want to run my business in a similar way to hers.
By the end of this 12-week course I was ready to start blogging full-time – and I’ve never looked back! If you invest in one blogging course, make it this one (it’s also the cheapest!). Click here for more details and to see the current price
Superstar Blogging (formerly TBS) is probably the most well known of travel blogging courses.
I was automatically added to Superstar Blogging when Travel Blog Success (another blogging course) was sold, and I did not have high expectations for it. I found TBS stale and outdated, and in fact think the only real reason so many bloggers promoted it was the affiliate payout.
But I just went through the course material of Superstar Blogging and guys, I’m so impressed! This is the most business-minded blogging course I’ve done, and you can really tell Matt and the experts he includes are brilliant at business.
I found so much use out of it even as a full-time blogger, so I definitely think it’s appropriate for advanced bloggers, but the course also starts at the very beginning of setting up a blog, so it would be incredibly helpful for beginners as well.
I would say if you are super motivated to build your blog into a long-term business (whether you’re an advanced blogger or just starting out), enroll in Superstar Blogging. See here for more course details and the current price
If you are an advanced blogger and want to learn more about monetizing your blog, check out the Travel Blog Monetization Summit. This is aimed at people looking to make money from their blogs and potentially go full time with it, and it gives you all the resources to do so. It also comes with a secret Facebook community that, while not as big as Superstar Blogging, is still very helpful.
Each and every talk from the summit gave me huge inspiration and a long list of things to change with my blog, and within a couple of months of viewing the course videos I was seeing a considerable increase in my blog income.
There’s a lot of mystery surrounding how bloggers actually make money (aside from vague mentions of sponsored posts, affiliate links and press trips) and this summit dispelled a lot of that mystery. These methods definitely work, and you’re unlikely to come across them anywhere else – it’s like getting a secret pass to business conversations between top travel bloggers. In fact, one of the biggest things I’ve struggled with in learning how to monetize my blog is knowing how much to charge, and in this summit a lot of bloggers shared their exact rates sheets.
I also really appreciated getting so many different bloggers’ perspectives towards how to make money with blogging, as opposed to just Matt and Monica’s points of view in their respective courses.
They’ve also added a course for beginners, which I haven’t done so I can’t really vouch for it, though if it’s anywhere near the quality of the summit it will surely be amazing. You can read more about both courses and see their prices here.
Phew, I can’t believe I just wrote so much about blogging! Seriously though, I find the blogging world weirdly fascinating and have spent an embarrassing amount of time learning about it. It’s absurd to think about how much I know about blogging right now. Like, way more than I ever learned about anything at my super fancy liberal arts college.
The Internet, it’s so bizarre, no?
PIN IT!
Disclosure: this post is full of affiliate links, duh!
Visiting Senja, Norway: The Local Island Favorite
Allison says
This is so spot on! I love blogging but I gave up on the idea of making money from it a looong time ago. I’m more than content with occasionally getting a free tour or discounted hotel room. Maybe I should try harder or whatever, but when I see some of the stuff other travel bloggers do (like you mentioned) it does indeed feel like a gross competition to get the most Instagram followers or a free press trip.
Also, I appreciate your honesty on TBS! I signed up for it when I first made my blog but got a refund because it seemed dated and overpriced considering how easy it is to find the content online for freet. Though others seem to love it, so to each their own?
Thanks for sharing!
Silvia says
I’m so with you – my blog has opened up a lot of opportunities for me, but I don’t really depend on my blog alone for my income. Too stressful! It is really nice that you could get a refund for TBS, and I guess that the course lessons seem to at least work for some people? Since it was so much cheaper way back when I bought it, I just considered it the fee to have access to the Facebook group, haha.
Arianna says
It always is super interesting to read what fellow bloggers think about blogging and the tips they give. Of course earning money with a blog would be cool, but I think that if you start with this idea in your mind, you won´t love writing, but you´ll mostly do it for the money… Maybe.. I don´t know…
About TBS.. I don´t know!! I mean.. it´s so expensive after all.. and for what? Well, for the level I have is useless, but maybe for big/famous travel bloggers is another thing!
Please, write more of these posts =)
https://pandaonavespa.wordpress.com/
Silvia says
Yeah, I think you could potentially make a high traffic travel blog with lots of SEO and Pinterest marketing, but it seems like it would be sooo dull to write! Definitely not for me. And I really wish TBS was more useful because the learning curve for blogging can be steep, but while it was helpful, in retrospect I think it pointed me in some of the wrong directions. I guess it’s just hard to keep a course like that up to date, especially as pretty much all “successful” travel bloggers will have started their blogs several years ago and this industry changes so quickly.
Amanda says
Hahaha, love this! I’m totally guilty of writing posts about blogging sometimes, and writing gift guides filled with affiliate codes. 😉 I don’t really judge other bloggers for it, though, because at the end of the day people are just trying to diversify their income and make a few extra dollars! I totally get it. I recently lost one of my big contract jobs, so I’m right there with everyone else, trying to make ends meet!
But I definitely agree with an earlier commenter who said starting a travel blog with the intention of making money from it is the wrong way to go.
As for Travel Blog Success, I’m really glad they are starting to branch out and offer more specialized courses. I think it gives people more options, and means the courses can be more detailed (and hopefully more useful!).
Silvia says
I just edited my post a bit because I definitely hadn’t intended to sound like I was judging other bloggers for doing the affiliate thing (especially as this post was full of them, ha)! I just meant that personally getting all those emails and trying to put together a gift guide totally stressed me out and made me realized that that’s just not a way I want to make money. The only thing that bums me out is when a blogger I love starts doing solely sponsored trips that feel really different from the sort of traveling they used to do, but I also realize it’s not fair for me to begrudge them maturing or changing. It would be like someone thinking worse of me for no longer being a solo traveler.
I really wish I could love TBS, and I do love aspects of it (and think your course is crazy helpful!). I guess it’s hard because it takes a while for most travel bloggers to become successful, so by the time they have enough experience to be considered an “expert” the industry has already changed and many of the things that worked for them simply aren’t going to be as effective anymore. It’s actually a reason I’ve started to turn more towards lifestyle and blogging blogs for advice, because they tend to be more up to date.
Amanda says
Totally didn’t mean to suggest you were judging people! It’s just that I’ve seen that going around a lot lately and I think it’s silly.
But yeah, there’s definitely a line, and it’s pretty easy to cross it when it comes to constantly pushing stuff that will make you money and taking sponsored trips. It’s all about balance, but sometimes it’s tricky to find!
Lisa says
Genius haha. I feel like I’m always seeing my own thoughts exposed when I read your posts, definitely had my share of “shake the computer screen” moments when I see the type of content that goes viral lately…and TBS. If only there was a guide to affiliate linkage a year ago that I could’ve read before purchasing the course at full price a week before the sale starts and bloggers went crazy talking about how ‘amazing’ it is. Love your honesty 🙂
Silvia says
Oh no, that must have been so frustrating! I was really surprised when I made my first affiliate sale from TBS and realized how much money it was, and then suddenly all of the praise for the course made sense, haha.
Nick @ concrete and kitsch says
Something tells me my niche of LGBT, off the beaten path, brutalist/Communist architecture urbex may be a bit too specific…Merp.
Silvia says
Hmm it would probably be really good if you could add something about baking in there, because those pins always do the best on Pinterest, just saying. Haha.
Fernando says
Well, I started blogging only three months ago, and I really appreciate the tips and the honesty, Silvia.
It’s so early days for me that I can’t even envisage a day when I could make at least some of my income off my blog. Maybe it’ll never happen.
As for Pinterest, I know it’s very visual and I should be all over it to promote my blog. But I find it a very impersonal platform, and I’ve never warmed up to it. Also, I read a couple of detailed guides on how to do Pinterest properly, and they both recommended to pin a lot, like 25-100 pins a day. And I find myself thinking that life’s too short for some stuff. I don’t know, maybe I’ll (have to) change my mind.
Great post!
Silvia says
Actually, I spend the least amount of social media time on Pinterest – only 30 – 60 minutes on it a week. I got a lot of messages from people after this post asking about how I use Pinterest effectively, so I decided to make a series of videos where I explain exactly what I do. But since most of my blog readers aren’t bloggers, instead of posting them on the blog I’m creating a separate email list for people interested in these blogging tips. You can sign up at http://eepurl.com/bHOyYT if you’re interested!
Fernando says
Excellent! I just signed up. Thanks.
Shing says
Hilarious! I doubt I’ll ever write a blog about blogging but if I did I’m just going to copy and paste this entire post with the title ‘What She Said’.
Silvia says
hahaha thanks for not judging me for caving and writing about blogging!
Lauren Lalicon says
I love how candid this post is! It’s cheeky and informative while giving a realistic perspective on traveling blogging. I agree with one of the other commentors about Pinterest; it’s so overwhelming for beginners! I feel like Pinterest is an inevitable bridge I would need to cross if I ever wanted to make my blog more lucrative though. Same with hosting too! I guess blogging is what you make out of it. I wonder if successful blogs are even born organically anymore!
Silvia says
Haha I’m glad you liked it! And as far as Pinterest goes, I got a lot of messages from people after this post asking about how I use Pinterest effectively, so I decided to make a series of videos explaining exactly what I do. But since most of my blog readers aren’t bloggers, instead of posting them on the blog I’m creating a separate email list for people interested in these blogging tips. You can sign up at http://eepurl.com/bHOyYT if you’re interested (don’t worry, it’s totally free).
Rachel says
Love your honesty here Silvia, I totally suck at blogging, I hardly even do any of the affiliate stuff and I can’t afford the courses (or I’d much rather spend that money having amazing travel experiences).
That Pinterest experiment is so interesting, I use Pinterest a lot, I’ve been using it since before I was a blogger (although it has changed quite a lot over the years). I get quite a lot of referral from it, that depressingly point to the fact that I should be blogging more about gluttonous over the top branded chocolate cupcakes than I do lovely inspiring travel posts! Hahaha!
I’ve actually had hit and miss with pins I’ve posted myself, other than the Finnish language stuff which weirdly goes quite well!
I feel like my blog is both super niche (vanlife nomad home baker) but then wide open with the abundant backpacking and language posts. Yeah, I should probably have two blogs! Urgh, I’ll never make millions from it but I like writing it, and that’s what counts, right?
Silvia says
Right? So typical Finnish language and food posts get shared more, haha. And it seems like you’re doing things exactly right as a blogger, at least from a reader’s perspective – who needs money anyway? ha.
Sarah says
Hilarious! I started reading because of the title (I’m so basic) and then almost closed it when it was looking like the standard travel blog success shilling post I routinely see from the big names but your use of sarcasm and humour kept me reading until the end. Well done!
Silvia says
Haha thanks, Sarah, I was a little worried people would be offended, so I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Ashley says
This post made me laugh so much – I literally laughed out loud when I read this sentence: “But their affiliate link will pay me the most so sign up with them!” I appreciate your honesty, especially about TBS, since almost every blogger seems to constantly ‘suggest’ you sign up for their course!
Silvia says
Yeah, I really wish I had known that TBS has such a high affiliate payout before buying it myself, as then I might have been more wary about trusting all those “TBS is amazing!” posts.
Julie says
This post made me lol. Great info though!
Silvia says
That’s a relief, I was worried people might find it annoying!
Our Wanders says
Oh you made us laugh so much, Silvia! Thanks for the great tips and your honesty.
We’ve just started blogging a couple of months ago. Travel, of course. 😀 We love it! As for money? We haven’t even thought about it yet… maybe some day. But it’s hard to imagine how a whole lot of people can make their income only from blogging – or so it seems.
We are so looking forward what you have to say about Pinterest! We’ve just started using it recently and it quickly became our favorite social media.
Silvia says
That’s definitely the right attitude to go into blogging with! And yay, I really hope the Pinterest videos are helpful – I’m working on them now and getting sort of excited about it!
Serendipity Tess says
So….this comment may come as a total surprise after all the rant about TBS. I actually joined because of this post using your link. *Ka-ching* expect some money flowing your way. I also joined after reading that you can get a refund haha! I was blogging for a while but thought ‘i would take things to the next level’ but all these creepy ‘join TBS it changed my life’ posts made me gag so I never joined. And look at you being all honest and stuff and there i succumbed to the pressure. I actually toyed with the idea of joining a lifestyle blogger group as you suggested but found your argument about the Facebook group to outweigh the cons of not joining – as I really need some help. I suck at whatever it is i’m obviously not doing. Haha! If you could say specifically what you think TBS suggests is not relevant anymore and you wouldn’t advice doing, I would really appreciate it. I’m also planning a trip to Norway for next year – would be awesome to grab a cup of coffee? I’m a shy introvert…don’t worry…we can just sit there and be awkward together. 🙂
Silvia says
Haha I did notice a couple of sign ups after this post and was a little surprised. And the Facebook group really is gold – I often find myself searching through old posts in the group and have found so much valuable stuff (it’s also weirdly fascinating to read what “big name bloggers” were saying years ago, haha). I would mostly just be wary of the TBS posts about social media. A few of them are written in a very dry way without personal experience, so I hesitate to trust them. Basically I would use the TBS posts as a guide about what you need to research more – and maybe turn towards lifestyle or blogging about blogging blogs for that info, as they tend to be more up to date. And I would LOVE to meet up in Norway, that would be so much fun! Love awkward coffee dates, haha.
Jane M says
Most travel blogs are sooooo boring and my feed on Pinterest is so dull I find it hard to find things to Pin. I really don’t need to see more tips about how to be safe as a woman travelling alone, thanks!
I do have a travel blog and struggle all the time between trying to get an audience and trying to write something useful / interesting. Not sure if I’m succeeding at either one!
J
Silvia says
I’m not sure I’m succeeding at that either! It’s definitely a balance with travel blogs, because they can so often come off as dry and soulless collections of not so useful travel tips, or self indulgent accounts of how awesome our travel life is, haha. Though I do think that if you’re aware of this and already worrying about it then you’re probably doing a better job than most 🙂
Bailey @ Weekends & Wanders says
This post covers so many tips and ideas that I haven’t heard before from others! I especially love how candid it is. You *are* an incredibly honest writer, which I love! It gives your words so much credibility.
Thank you for posting this information for us newbies!
Silvia says
I’m so glad you found it informative and not just obnoxious, haha. There’s so much information out there about travel blogging, usually full of affiliate links, so it can definitely be hard to figure out what advice to follow.
Violette says
It’s funny I wasn’t looking for another blog post about blogging, I have read sooo many of them my brain is confused. But yours definitely stands out, especially the title – love this catchy title. And you made me laugh the entire time.
I can relate to Tess, I have heard of TBS since I started my travel blog and never wanted to join… until I read your post (and the comment about getting a refund, I have to say it sounds reassuring). So maybe I’ll do it, maybe I won’t, but I’ll definitely click through your link if I do.
Finding the balance between enjoying blogging and earning some money for the hard work is truly difficult, there should be a guide about this !
Silvia says
It is such a tough balance! For now I’m happy using my blog to get some complimentary stays or as a portfolio to getting freelance jobs. The whole monetizing your blog thing just seems like a really tough not to crack. And TBS is a tough call too – I really wish there were a course I truly loved and could recommend wholeheartedly.
Hannah says
Haha love this! Just started my travel blog, not really planning on making any money out of it though, more as an online journal. Plus it’s a way to share my travels with all the people that actually care (so my facebook friends don’t have to get bored if I post 1000 pictures on there). But if I ever do want to ‘take it to the next level’ I’ll definitely go back to these tips:) thanks
Silvia says
That’s the perfect way to start a travel blog! I think starting with the intent on making it a business would just suck so much of the fun out of blogging.
Iain says
This post did make me chuckle in agreement! Sometimes the blogging community can feel like what the youtube community has became, having to distinguish between a genuine post and a post which is either an advertisement or driving for affiliate commish.
As someone in the process of starting my own travel blog, It was a breath of fresh air on your views on these travel blogging help websites. It almost confirmed my deep down suspicions, that there is value, but its being a bit pumped up.
Subscribed to your blog 🙂
Silvia says
Ha, glad I could give you a few chuckles! And good luck starting your blog. It’s exactly as you said – the help websites and courses (and I’ve even created a Pinterest course) can be valuable, but you should also be wary of affiliates promoting them. So it goes!
MacKensie says
hahaha this is amazing. Thanks for being real and making me laugh. I just found your blog on Instagram and I’m loving it. Looking forward to traveling trips based on some of your great posts. xo
Silvia says
Glad you enjoyed it!
Nicky_wanderlust_ says
Hi Silvia, I’ve been devouring your blog since the minute I discovered you on Instagram!
Thanks for this post, and I wish I had found you earlier before I went with the hype and started my own website one week ago with BlueHost, after reading a bunch of those other “how to start a blog” articles you mentioned, haha.
You clarified a lot of questions I’ve been asking myself though – especially regarding monetizing. I don’t want to start with that in mind, because I do believe that money worries from having a blog as your sole source of income will definitely kill your passion for traveling! And I wouldn’t want my travels from now on to be focused on “how am I going to take advantage of this trip by writing about it and promoting it?” Instead, I want to keep traveling to the places that genuinely call to my heart and interest me, even if they aren’t mainstream or places that would appeal much to others!
Keep up the good work and doing what you do, you’re a beam of authenticity and freshness in this saturated travel blogging world I’ve been immersed in the last 6 years!
Will be starting your course on Pinterest too, as I’m a newbie there, cheers 🙂
Silvia says
It sounds like you’ve started with a great mindset! It’s definitely a tricky balance if you want to treat your blog like a business but also not kill your passion for it, but I’ve found that blogging is so addicting that even though I’m making money from it now I would definitely continue regardless 🙂 Good luck, and I would love to have you as part of my Pinterest course!
David says
Grat post, I think the most important thing we tell people is to travel with a purpose, Do not just wander around the world aimlessly. (Like ours is to experience and document the Top 100 Travel Adventures) So many travel blogs do not really have a purpose or a niche. Niche is key and many miss out on that because they want to cover and do it all.
Silvia says
Yeah, I think that can be especially hard if you begin blogging as a hobby and then later want to make it professional, because you won’t have started with a solid niche and branding.
Shafiq Khokhar says
Hi,
Hope you are having a wonderful time!
I am Shafiq and I work for an online agency referred to as “Futuristic Artists”.
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I was wondering if you allow sponsored post on your site? If yes, kindly reply me with the best price per post.
Regards,
Shafiq